Stitch Fix: January 2016 Review

My first Stitch Fix of 2016 makes an even dozen Fixes for me! I can’t believe I’ve already received twelve of these boxes. This fix was supposed to arrive on the 26th but was delayed a day due to lingering post-blizzard delivery issues. Boo, Jonas. Not a big deal, though—the box arrived safe and sound late yesterday afternoon.

Note: if you’re not familiar with Stitch Fix, you can read all about how it works at the bottom of this post.

I was very excited to tear into this box. My last fix was a good one, and in my feedback I requested the same stylist for this fix. When I opened up the box, I happily found that they had assigned her to me again! Here’s a sneak peek at this month’s goodies:

Even before unfolding the pieces I was pleased with the colors (and stripes!). Here are my styling cards along with the note from my stylist, Lucy:

In the past I’ve often written a note to my stylist on the Stitch Fix website about things I’m interested in receiving in my next fix, or things I would not like to see in my box (that’s what she said). This time around I chose not to make any requests and just see what happened. So let’s see how I netted out!

The first thing I tried on was the 41Hawthorn Presley Colorblock Button-Back Sweater ($68). This is the one color I wasn’t sure about when I first opened up my box, because I don’t gravitate toward coral colors. But then I tried it on, and I loved it:

The color blocking makes the sweater visually interesting; had it been all coral I might not have liked it as much. The sleeve length works well on my extra long arms, and it also looks good with the sleeves pushed up like I’m wearing it in the above photo. The sweater is thin (soft, too!) and will work well as a top layer or on its own. I styled it with a pair of grey Banana Republic skinny jeans and my green Hunter adjustable rain boots, because we did just get almost 30″ of snow dumped on us here in Brooklyn. I also threw on a House of Harlow 1960 pendant that I’ve had for years and is very badly in need of a good polish. 🙂

Oh, you wanna see the back of the sweater too? It’s pretty damn cute:

The verdict? SOLD! Side note/confession: I realized that I smile for the camera even when I have my back turned. Habit!

Next, I tried on the Colette Danilo Tie Sleeve Knit Top ($48). I’m a big fan of stripes, and this top is right up my alley. It’s fairly basic but has details that elevate it, like the ties at the sleeves and a contrasting stripe strip up the sides. The top looks good with just a bit tucked in the front:

The third piece I tried on was the navy 41Hawthorn Benson 3/4 Ruched Sleeve Blazer ($78). I have been wanting to get a blazer for quite some time now, but they often cost more than I’m willing to spend. My stylist noticed that I had pinned this item, so she made sure to send it to me. And it’s adorable! Here’s how it looks over the Colette top, both buttoned and unbuttoned:

This blazer isn’t made of a traditional blazer material; it’s more of a structured sweatshirt-y material. I don’t mean that in a negative way—the material actually makes it feel very comfortable and less professional, so I could wear it to brunch or on a date night without looking like I meant to go to a meeting. The blazer will give any outfit a polished look without being stuffy, and it has a striped lining which is a fun extra detail. Plus, the price is right for me. The best thing about this blazer, though? The ruched 3/4 sleeves! You know how you see pics of, like, J. Crew models wearing blazers with the sleeves pushed up and they look so cool? In real life it’s hard to achieve that look without the sleeves falling down. On this blazer, that cool look is built in! The only thing that could be better about this blazer would be real pockets (the pocket slits are decorative). The verdict? SOLD!

The fourth piece I tried on was the Laila Jayde Donegan V-Neck Knit Top ($58). My stylist noted that she sent this to me because it was in my favorite color, and I appreciate her attention to detail! Because this top is quite long, I decided to do something a little different when putting an outfit together for my photos: I threw it on over a pair of black faux leather leggings that I hardly ever wear (I can’t even tell you the brand because the tag doesn’t say, but I bought them at DSW), along with my Durango boots.

Totally smiling at the wall again in the pic on the right, BTW.

I kept the S&D Aurora necklace on because it worked really well with the v-neck. I will say that I’d probably feel uncomfortable wearing this outfit in public, but that’s only because it’s not my usual jeans-and-a-top uniform. It does look cute, though, and in my opinion the top is long enough to wear over leggings without people whispering “leggings aren’t pants, idiot!” behind my back. Maybe I’ll manage to step outside my comfort zone and wear this outfit to dinner sometime soon. 😛

I also tried styling the Laila Jayde top with a more typically “me” outfit. I paired it with dark blue Banana Republic skinnies, a Bajee Collection open cardigan from an earlier fix, and short grey faux suede booties from Payless. Now this is much more my speed…though to be perfectly honest, if I were going to be doing any kind of walking I’d just wear sneakers.

The verdict? SOLD!

Piece number five? The Loveappella Tiffina Knit Top ($54), which has a split neck, a seam down the middle, and sort of embroidered detail around the bottom third of the sleeves. Like the Colette top, I love this item because it’s basic but has details that turn it into something a little more special.

This top also looked great with the dark skinnies and booties. You can’t really tell in the above photo, but I took off my necklace to allow the neckline to speak for itself, and I put on the Bay to Baubles Lance Carved Earrings that I got in my May 2015 fix (those were SUCH great keepers. I wear them all the time!). The verdict? SOLD!

So in case you weren’t keeping track, this fix is a five for five keeper! I went into my 12th fix without any expectations, and my stylist completely nailed it (thanks, Lucy!). There honestly weren’t even any pieces that I was on the fence about. Everything fit well and was perfectly my style: casual with an interesting detail or twist. Plus, all of the clothes are so soft! I think I’ve said before that Stitch Fix often sends really soft stuff; I love that about this service. 🙂

The damage to my wallet for this fix was more than I had been hoping to spend, but I’m confident that I’ll get a lot of wear out of these pieces so it’ll be worth it. And there’s that 25% discount for keeping all five pieces! The total value of all five is $306, but with the discount and minus the $20 styling fee I spent $209.50. That’s an average of $41.90 per item—not too shabby! I’d call this Stitch Fix a MAJOR SUCCESS!

One last thing to note, unrelated to the clothing. Remember how I tried out the tonymoly lip tint from my k-beauty Birchbox and it came out all patchy on my lips? I tried it again today, but this time I exfoliated my lips with Lush Mint Julips Scrub first. I applied the tint with the applicator and patted it out with my finger…still patchy. So I applied Fresh Sugar Treatment in Berry on top of the tint, and lo and behold, it smoothed out the patchiness. I’m totally into this lip color combo, so I think I’ll use it again!

Sign up at Stitch Fix and fill out a style profile by answering questions about your clothing sizes, what sort of styles you like (preppy, bohemian, trendy, classic, etc), colors you love or hate, styles you never want to see in a fix, and more. You can even specify a price range you’re willing to spend per piece. The style profile is pretty comprehensive, and they encourage you to include a link to your Pinterest style board (here’s mine) to help guide your stylist. You can request specific items via your Pinterest board or on leaving a note for your stylist on the Stitch Fix website, though there’s no guarantee you’ll get them.

Then you schedule a fix. You can get a fix as often as you’d like: monthly, every other month, for an upcoming special occasion, etc. When the appointed date arrives, you get a box filled with five items picked just for you by your stylist, along with a note from your stylist and cards showing suggested outfits for each piece. You get to try on each piece and decide whether you want to keep it or send it back. If you keep any items (even just one), they’ll deduct a $20 styling fee from the total cost. Even better? If you keep all five items, you get a 25% discount on everything! You only pay the $20 styling fee if you send everything back. What happens when you don’t like some of the items? That’s totally fine. Stitch Fix makes it very easy for you to return whatever you don’t want to keep. Each fix includes a pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope so you can seal the return pieces inside it, then drop it in any USPS mail box within three business days. Schedule your first Fix today!